I hear people saying things like “chatgpt is basically just a fancy predictive text”. I’m certainly not in the “it’s sentient!” camp, but it seems pretty obvious that a lot more is going on than just predicting the most likely next word.

Even if it’s predicting word by word within a bunch of constraints & structures inferred from the question / prompt, then that’s pretty interesting. Tbh, I’m more impressed by chatgpt’s ability to appearing to “understand” my prompts than I am by the quality of the output. Even though it’s writing is generally a mix of bland, obvious and inaccurate, it mostly does provide a plausible response to whatever I’ve asked / said.

Anyone feel like providing an ELI5 explanation of how it works? Or any good links to articles / videos?

  • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
    133·
    6 months ago

    Me:

    You are a talented comedian. Generate some jokes or riddles that rely on wordplay.

    ChatGPT 4:

    Sure, here are a few wordplay-based jokes and riddles:

    Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything!

    I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes. She gave me a hug.

    What do you call fake spaghetti? An “impasta.”

    I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down!

    Why was the math book sad? Because it had too many problems.

    Enjoy these light-hearted plays on words!

    Edit: I prodded it a little, and I actually quite like the fourth one below.

    Me:

    These aren’t very clever. Can you generate some that a more mature audience would appreciate?

    ChatGPT:

    Of course, here are some more sophisticated wordplay-based jokes suitable for a mature audience:

    Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet.

    A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother. I mean another.

    I’m reading a book on the history of glue. Can’t put it down, but I’m sticking to it.

    Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. A classic example of linguistic ambiguity.

    The rotation of Earth really makes my day. Quite literally.

    These jokes involve a bit more linguistic and conceptual play, appealing to an audience that enjoys a deeper level of wordplay.

    • bionicjoey
      191·
      6 months ago

      All of those jokes are plagiarized. It doesn’t actually understand the jokes, it’s just repeating ones that it’s seen before. Ask it to explain why some of these are funny.

      • shasta@lemm.ee
        7·
        5 months ago

        Seriously. I’ve literally heard all of those jokes before. It may have even stolen them all from a single website.